American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is San Francisco's flagship
theater and boasts a national reputation. Going to the newly restored,
post-earthquake Geary Theater between Taylor and Mason is a grand
affair and can easily be a dress-up occasion on a Friday or Saturday
night.

The Buriel Clay Theater is perhaps best know for its long-running
productions of Viva Variety, a cabaret-like comic ensemble piece that
reinvents itself each year. Like San Francisco itself, the Buriel Clay
is a mix of the eclectic, the queer and the downright hilarious.

The Curran Theater has a long history of staging successful runs of
Broadway powerhouse touring companies. Perhaps the best stage outside
of New York to catch chart-toppers like Phantom of the Opera and highly
acclaimed experimental works.

The experimental EXIT Theater in San Francisco has a bohemian flare,
often serving as a launching board for successful, larger productions.
Unlike many San Francisco theaters, the EXIT is neither stuffy nor
staid.

Performances at the Herbst Theater, located within walking distance of
San Francisco City Hall, the San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco
Symphony, have some stiff competition. Undaunted, the theater lures
first-class classical musicians in search of a more personal
performance space.

A crossroads for San Francisco's performance art and one of the oldest
alternative art spaces in San Francisco, Intersection for the Arts is a
community-based showcase for new and experimental works of literature,
music, theater and more.

The 1000-seat Palace of Fine Arts Theater lends itself to larger than
life performing art pieces with a greater touch of accessibility than
some of the more obscure San Francisco theater venues.
From children's musicals to jazz exhibitions and film retrospectives,
one never knows what's going on behind the buildings gorgeous French
facade; one just knows it'll be worth stopping in.

Refurbished as a playhouse for the whimsically avant-garde, the Post
Street Theater was originally built as as lodge and meeting hall for
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Now a 729-seat theater, the Post Street Theater of San Francisco
(PSTOSF) has premiered hit after hit, including Steve Martin's Picasso
At The Lapin Agile, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde,
Forever Tango, Dame Edna: The Royal Tour and Lily Tomlin's The Search
for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.

Theater Rhinoceros is the West Coast's premiere gay and lesbian
theater, artistic director, John Fisher, is bringing plays that address
life in San Francisco and the whole spectrum of sexual orientation
instead of just breaking sexuality down into men's and women's
categories.

Yerba Buena
Center for the
Arts Theater

Like the inter-cultural Center which houses the Yerba Buena Center of
the Arts Theater, the nine-year-old newbie space in the Metreon complex
is dedicated to bringing the best in the performing arts to the Bay
Area.

While its wide array productions makes it difficult to pigeon hole, the
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater boasts a terrific history of
modern dancers and neo-classical musicians.